Yes I have CW knowledge, learned it back in 1968 for novice, never did get up to 13 wpm for general upgrade so just let it expire. It stated in the report that he had a VHF HT, probably for listening to the weather updates.
I did not say YOU said it in fact I did not quote your post at all there are other references in the thread.
More info: He said his solar-powered radio allowed him to provide information to passing ships, but 10 had sailed past before the Panama-registered MV Arpeggio stopped to help.
It's just as possible he was using a VHF-only marine HT, which, in Southeast Asia are just about as cheap as dual band Baofengs. As for the "not licensed", isn't that kinda absurd in this case? Perhaps we will know at some point what kind of HT he was using.
Hopefully Aldi and his family are safe from the recent natural disasters. First the earthquake-tsunami hit that region, and now a volcano erupts near his indicated starting point on North Sulawesi. A couple of days ago I sent an email to ORARI with a link to this thread urging them to make contact with him to obtain and publish details on the make/model of HT and its use especially while adrift and during the rescue. Also to encourage and mentor the young man to become not just an honorary but a fully licensed amateur op. No reply yet but I can imagine they may be a bit busy right now too.
Aldi is from Wori district around the tip of the North Sulawesi area, near the Bunaken National Marine Park. It is north of the town of Manado, also about 33 miles north of the summit of Mount Soputan, the erupting volcano on North Sulawesi island. The Palu earthquake/tsunami was hundreds of miles to the southwest. Map of the area: At this time, the Mt. Soputan ash rain area is quite small, only affecting a few miles of radius near the volcano. See map: Indonesia has many religionists, here's a generalized map:
I highly doubt he was using VHF marine HT. Those things are kind of rare in shops. On the other hands, plenty of Icom, Kenwood, and other (Chinese) major brand amateur rigs on sale with frequency dial as wide as a barn door (maybe the intent is to make conversion easy for use in licensed LMR land mobile radio -- not uncommon). I think that if someone knows about subtlety like above, he would be a person well read and would be able to find better employment than manning a floating fish station. I appreciate everyone's view in light of this news, however, I do feel that we still view it from within our own prejudices. Questions like: Why is there a 'Rompong' floating fish station? Is it a job with decent pay for him / his family? Why doesn't he speak English at all? Why would he risk his life doing work in a dangerous setting? Is he licensed to operate the radio? Would a man in a fishing industry like him understand the complexity of maritime communications network? etc are probably not easy to answer/understand from the comfort of a first world setting.
